The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 03, 1983, Image 6
state Prison alternatives sought United Press International AUSTIN — The solution to Texas’ prison overcrowding problem is to stop building “monuments to crime” and fun nel more money into alternative programs to keep criminals from behind bars, lawmakers told a House committee. Members of the House Cri minal Jurisprudence Commit tee heard the chairman of the House Law Enforcement Com mittee testify Tuesdays that in tensive probation, halfway houses and restitution centers will divert enough criminals from prisons to stop the growth in state prisons. Texas is under a federal court order to reduce prison population or increase prison size. The population of the Texas Department of Corrections is expected to grow to 40,000 by the end of 1983 with about 4,000 inmates still housed in tents. Rep. Jim Rudd, D- Brownfield,. said the current growth rate of 300 to 500 pris oners a month could be elimin ated by better use of alterna tives. probation and parole depart ments for use in beefing up such existing programs as intensive probation, where criminals are closely scrutinized by probation officers. “At the rate we’re going, we do not see an end to the popula tion boom at TDC,” Rudd said. Specifically, Rudd urged that about $185 million be transfer red from TDC’s proposed $800 million biennial budget to the The money also could be used to start new diversion prog rams like restitution centers, where criminals must work to pay room and board, restitution to their victims and support for their own families, he said. Pepe’s Mexican Food For the fun of it! Come out and enjoy the zesty taste of our Mexican Food - for the fun of it! 3312 S. College Bryan Open Daily 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m. Post Oak Mall 107 Dominik College Station Open Daily 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m Open 11 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. MSC Basement & MILLER sat. March 5 th Rumours Original Rock & Roll ■ United Pn SflREVEH ■ Barrel! K believed mz of 5 ■nged to Hff mom •old and ca rand jury, Wednesday. flan elson jfig l ive tnn ives ligating iS assinatioi) jcfee John ntonio. In exchan |gi with the jrj was gua 'joiiy would e r unless si ■ before t Hfbe gov (C answers t Mi Jumpin’ in the sun Exercising and good weather seem to go together. Mitch Dudek, a junior industrial engineering major from £ United P IlCHMO iahadorans iftalong the - Bet near H ■frighten md their fat leased sm ~~——“—Butors sait ,Uff photo by Ron “Bp rosetUtl Jnts Tues ■ the capi Sidney, Australia, keeps in v juanRamor running and jumping rope ^ am ! at the same time. Bie toui Sal Prosecul a memb Tejas’ ling ring Another tent city checked for safety (Tf United Press International HOUSTON — Montgomery County officials Tuesday plan ned to return to the site of a newly opened campsite for the unemployed to look for possible fire safety violations — the same problem which forced the clos ing of the controversial Tent City, USA. Fundamentalist preacher Ray Meyer, disillusioned by the aimlessness of Tent City resi dents who recently were evicted from a state roadside park be cause of fire hazards posed by ramshackle tents, recently opened a makeshift camp for the jobless on 2.8 acres of private land in Montgomery County, 35 miles northeast of Houston. Wary officials paid a visit to the campsite Feb. 22 to point out possible fire safety violations and promised to return Tues day to further specify hazards that must be corrected and rules that must be obeyed, an organiz er said. “The fire officials showed up and laid down certain things that must be done,” Jobe Matu- sow, who is running the camp with Meyer, said. “We had to re move some wood stacked up, and there was an open pit fire near the tents that they wanted moved back. “There were about six people who came out, all wearing guns. We told them to tell us what the (fire) code is and w hat to comply with. We’ll comply with the law, but let’s do it in a dignified way,” he said. Matusow, of Tucson, Ariz. and the leader of a 14-member group which calls itself Amer ican Refugees in America, is helping Meyer build huts and latrines at the camp. Meyer, who is unemployed and lives in a small frame house overlooking the wooded land, said about 45 people already live at the camp. However, none came from Tent City. “I exposed Tent City,” Meyer said. “I said those people were carrying off the food handouts and selling it for booze. I tried to help those people but it was a disillusioning experience.” With a Bible protruding from his pocket and a TBm lions beeper attachedtoB A A Meyer said he leased!# v. plot on FM 1495 toattrw r t ii United 1 needy people "hoagrets at building permaneni blpartmen at odd jobs, and \vhoab«B e( j over j strict rules of conduct pj court f or “We’re not establishiB man wh , gious community,' m )te d f ror “We’re already a relig*®,- sex munity. We’re giving™ y $ pj s giving* (j secure pjace to land,*, Tuesda syste We will help anyway s L tem to . get them on their feel t ( an $14 4 ' However, he said se l meel | us ^ dents of the camphav res(ore members of Meyer's heakh se] and signed a “foresake« ndin _ a tract giving all person;: s ings to the group, g Buecal( Meyer said money (»ft t on th( camp comes fromdona® ania work that members d( | p t , c’ He said as many as2jf eS ’ t0 be can squeeze onto thep# had two permanent ho! 1 1 when he leased it fof I month in Novembe r | there are four additM huts and a scattering! and trailers. / « >ve?ien^- on Ma// — ( % '^'/0/c^uJi /e <S^vae/a//e in /Ae